What American political conservatives believe is best for the American economy, especially in the industry of finance, even though it is best known for delivering excessive profits during periods of economic growth, high unemployment once the economy stalls, and ever-widening levels of economic inequality. It also makes white-collar crime much easier.

In 1999, led by conservative Republican Senator Phil Gramm from Texas, the U.S. Congress repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, which has stood since 1934 in an act of deregulation. Those 65 years were marked with steady economic growth and economic crises that were very mild, at worst. Since 1999, commercial banks started gambling with depositors' money, and this then created a culture of excessive risk-taking on Wall Street that turned it into a casino that eventually crashed the worldwide economy in 2008.

If you hear this word mentioned in a positive light, odds are someone rich is talking.

Deregulation of various industries is a concept loudly heralded by Republicans and Conservatives in general as a means to "promote competition" and "stimulate the economy". These people can be trusted of course because, as we all know, their brilliant strategy of cutting taxes for the people most likely to send labor off American shores and setting the tax burden on the lower and middle classes is working like a charm.

Anyone with half a brain can quickly figure out that they're more or less looking for a friendlier way of saying they'd like to make it easier to act outside the law, let unsafe and under-tested products roll off assembly lines on the cheap, and bring back the days before the Clayton Antitrust Act; a glorious time period in which the grand-daddies of the current crop of Republicans made their money and earned their clout.

"Deregulating the __________ industry is essential to promote competition and stimulate the economy."

-Every Republican politician or businessman has uttered these words at least one time in his career.

The shit that allowed Clear Channel to systematically take over every radio station in the country, and force crap like Maroon 5 and Britney Spears into our ears over and over and over and over and over...

Me: Shit, nigga... Thanks to the FCC and their deregulation of the airwaves (plus a nice little bribe), Clear Channel has taken over the country and is ruining radio!
Some Guy: Nigga WHUUUUUUUUUUUUUT?